Aug 17, 2017 MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. Jay Cutler ran onto the field with the Miami Dolphins for the first time, and the fans greeted their new quarterback with a loud ovation. They didn't have much else to cheer about over the next three hours. Ryan Mallett threw for 113 yards and a touchdown, Josh Woodrum ran for two more scores and the Baltimore Ravens beat the Dolphins 31-7 on Thursday night in the second preseason game for both teams. Cutler played the first two series for the Dolphins, his debut as injured starter Ryan Tannehill's replacement in Miami. He was 3 of 6 for 24 yards, some of it in a no-huddle tempo, and his highlight play was one that didn't count. Facing a third-and-16, Cutler stepped up and found DeVante Parker for what would have been a 31-yard gain - one erased by a holding flag. ''He was good. We kind of got the tempo going and got comfortable,'' Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. ''He had a couple really nice moves in the pocket, pushing up and making a couple guys miss. We had penalties on the play, so it was negated, but he felt good. '' Cutler took a big hit on his last snap, courtesy of the Ravens' Za'Darius Smith. He got up without any problem, then switched his helmet for a baseball cap and headset. ''He's having fun,'' Gase said. Ravens starting quarterback Joe Flacco isn't expected to play until Week 1 of the regular season because of back woes, and Mallett played the entire first half. Mallett completed 13 of 22 passes, getting intercepted twice - both on passes intended for Quincy Adeboyejo. The first pick was by Xavier Howard on a ball lofted down the left sideline and overthrow, the other coming when Cordrea Tankersley ripped the ball out of Adeboyejo's hands after he had to reach back to make a catch on a quick slant. Woodrum completed eight of 10 passes for 110 yards. The Dolphins' storyline coming into Thursday was all about Cutler, and his first game action with Miami. For as much hubbub as there was for that, there likely was as much concern about special teams when the night ended. Senorise Perry had an 11-yard touchdown run for Miami, but he also fumbled away a kickoff return - one of many Miami special-teams miscues. The Dolphins also had a punt blocked in the second quarter, setting up Mallett's 1-yard touchdown toss to Larry Donnell, and later had a hold on a kickoff return. Gase said Miami had 10 men on the field for the blocked punt. ''It's one of those unforced errors we can't have happen,'' Gase said. TUCKER AUTOMATICRavens kicker Justin Tucker is automatic from 50 yards or more. Tucker connected on a 52-yarder for the Ravens' first points of the night. He also made a 59-yarder in Baltimore's preseason-opening win over Washington, and was 10 for 10 on tries from 50 yards or more last season. Tucker also recovered a fumble on a misplayed kickoff return, one of Miami's many special-teams issues. QB WATCHDolphins backup Matt Moore, like Cutler, was also done for the night by the time the first quarter was over. He completed 3 of 5 passes for 11 yards, before getting relieved by David Fales. Brandon Doughty came in for Miami in the second half. COMING HOMEBaltimore's third quarterback, Thaddeus Lewis, was enjoying a homecoming. He played his high school ball at nearby Hialeah-Miami Lakes High. TOUGH STARTDolphins offensive lineman Sam Young was flagged for holding on consecutive plays in the first quarter, including one that wiped out the Cutler-to-Parker play for 31 yards. MORE OF THE SAMEThe Ravens and Dolphins last met in December, with Baltimore winning that matchup 38-6. Baltimore is 25-9 in its last 34 preseason games. --- NFL website: www. pro32. ap. org and http://twitter. com/-NFL

Aug 17, 2017 PHILADELPHIA Of all the high-profile players making debuts in a new uniform, Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby was most impressive. Darby intercepted former teammate Tyrod Taylor's pass and returned it 48 yards and also broke up two passes in his first game since Philadelphia acquired him from Buffalo last week, and the Eagles beat the Bills 20-16 on Thursday night. Alshon Jeffery, a former Pro Bowl wide receiver signed by the Eagles in the offseason, caught his first pass from Carson Wentz and finished with two receptions for 23 yards. Bills cornerback E. J. Gaines also had an interception in his first game since coming from the Rams in a trade last week. Gaines picked third-string quarterback Matt McGloin, who has struggled in two preseason games. Wideout Anquan Boldin, a three-time Pro Bowl pick recently signed by the Bills, caught one pass for 5 yards. The Eagles traded wide receiver Jordan Matthews and a 2018 third-round pick for Darby. Matthews, a popular player in Philadelphia's locker room, didn't make the trip because of a chest injury. Both teams looked sloppy in a mistake-filled game. There were 23 penalties and seven turnovers, including Mitchell White's interception in the end zone on the final play to secure the win. Wentz completed 6 of 9 passes for 56 yards. Taylor was 8 of 18 for 53 yards and two interceptions. After T. J. Yates tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Reilly late in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 16-13 lead, Philadelphia's Byron Marshall ran in from the 1 for the go-ahead score. ANTHEM PROTESTChris Long, the Philadelphia defensive end who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, put his arm around teammate Malcolm Jenkins as a show of unity while the safety stood with his right fist raised in the air as he's done since last season. Long was to his right with his left arm on Jenkins' shoulder. QB WATCHBills: Nathan Peterman was 10 of 20 for 167 yards. . . . Yates finished 9 of 15 for 83 yards, one TD and one interception. Eagles: McGloin was 12 of 20 for 131 yards and one interception. He took most of the snaps because backup Nick Foles remains sidelined. . . . Dane Evans completed 9 of 12 or 92 yards and one pick. PLAYER OF THE GAMEEagles LB Mychal Kendricks had a sack, interception and tackle for loss. Kendricks had asked for a trade in the offseason, but he's slated to be the starter at the outside spot. WELCOME BACKBills RB LeSean McCoy, the Eagles' franchise rushing leader, had 21 yards rushing on four carries and still runs better than every running back Philadelphia has tried since former coach Chip Kelly traded him to Buffalo in 2015. ROOKIE WATCHBills: WR Zay Jones, a second-round pick, had three catches for 42 yards. He made a nifty grab in the corner of the end zone late in the second quarter, but couldn't get both feet in. Eagles: DE Derek Barnett, the 14th overall pick, had another sack after getting two in the preseason opener. . . . Undrafted RB Corey Clement had 34 yards rushing, including a 6-yard TD. INJURIESBills WR Rod Streater was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter after injuring his foot. The entire Bills bench walked over to the cart to comfort Streater before he was driven to the locker room. There was no immediate word on the extent of his injury. ---More NFL: www. pro32. ap. org and www. twitter. com/-NFL---Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter: https://twitter. com/-RobMaaddi

Aug 17, 2017 JACKSONVILLE, Fla. Jameis Winston continued his solid preseason, completing 21 of 29 passes for 196 yards and helping the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat woeful Jacksonville 12-8 on Thursday night. Winston had two passes dropped, including what would have been a 43-yard touchdown strike to Mike Evans in the first quarter. The Buccaneers (1-1) scored on their first three possessions, getting a short touchdown run from Doug Martin and two field goals from Nick Folk. Tampa Bay dominated Jacksonville in two quarters that featured mostly starters, outgaining the Jags 240-59 and looking like the much better team. Folk, who won the kicking job last week after the Bucs waived former second-round draft pick Roberto Aguayo, had an extra point blocked by Calais Campbell. He also missed a 47-yarder wide right in the fourth quarter. Evans finished with five catches for 57 yards, but missed a chance for a huge gain when he let Winston's perfectly thrown deep ball slip through his fingers. It was about the only thing that went right for the Jaguars (1-1). Jacksonville's night went so awry that coach Doug Marrone now seemingly has open competitions at quarterback and place-kicker. Backup quarterback Chad Henne got some work with the first-team offense, fueling speculation that Blake Bortles has lost his grasp on the starting job. Henne entered late in the second quarter after Bortles played four series that ended in punts. Even though the move had been planned beforehand, it surely created the appearance that Marrone and football czar Tom Coughlin are wavering in their commitment to Bortles. Marrone and Coughlin have publicly supported Bortles all year, even picking up the fifth-year option in his rookie contract. But Marrone pulled the third overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft last week following two interceptions. Marrone said Bortles' ''arm looked tired. '' Bortles denied having any issues. Bortles completed 8 of 13 passes for 65 yards against the Bucs. He doesn't have a touchdown or a turnover in two preseason games. Henne's first pass should have resulted in a touchdown, but Keelan Cole dropped it at the goal line. Henne finished 6-of-10 passing for 44 yards. Jason Myers missed from 40 yards out, leaving him 1 for 4 on the season. He also missed an extra point in the fourth. The Jaguars don't have another kicker in camp, but that likely will change Friday. ROOKIE WATCHDede Westbrook, a fourth-round draft pick from Oklahoma, finished with five catches for 101 yards. He was one of the few bright spots for Jacksonville. Westbrook and third-string quarterback Brandon Allen got the Jags to the 2-yard line in the final 2 minutes, but Allen misfired on a fourth-and-1 play. SITTING OUTThe Buccaneers played without two starters: cornerback Brent Grimes (leg laceration) and linebacker Devante Bond (sprained knee). The Jaguars were without rookie running back Leonard Fournette (foot), receiver Marqise Lee (ankle) and their top three cornerbacks. Jalen Ramsey, A. J. Bouye and Aaron Colvin did not dress. AWFUL STARTJacksonville, which wants to be a power run team, ran seven times for minus a yard in the opening half. The Jags managed four first downs and got booed by the home crowd when Bortles badly underthrew a wide-open Allen Robinson in the seam. INJURIESTampa Bay: Starting right tackle Demar Dotson left the game with a groin injury and did not return. Cornerback Josh Robinson injured a hamstring. Jacksonville: Running back T. J. Yeldon injured his left hamstring and did not return. Cornerback Charles Gaines injured his right eye. ---For more NFL coverage: http://www. pro32. ap. org and http://www. twitter. com/-NFL

After rainout, Twins host Indians in doubleheader Thursday 28m ago• 4 min read MINNEAPOLIS -- Rain has been a big problem for the Minnesota Twins in their eighth year in the outdoor Target Field. Cleveland has been a problem for Minnesota, too, but the Indians have had their share of the weather-related headaches at Target Field.The Wednesday game between the teams never began, and it was officially postponed 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. It was the fourth postponement of the season at Target Field this season and the second involving Minnesota and Cleveland. The two teams were rained out on April 19, as well.The game will be made up Thursday as part of a split doubleheader. Thursday's original day game will start at 12:10 p.m. CT, and the makeup will start at 6:10 p.m. CT.The Indians won the series opener on Tuesday 8-1. Cleveland is 8-0 in Minnesota this season and has outscored the Twins 56-15 in Target Field."It doesn't really make sense, but there's a lot of things in our game that you spin your head around trying to figure out," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said of the Indians' dominance in Target Field. "I'm well aware that they've come in here and dominated us in our own park. We've got a couple more chances to get in the win column against them here before we go there and play them there in September." The two teams had only one other common day which could have been used as a makeup, Sept. 25. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said pregame that he hoped for a doubleheader instead of returning to Minnesota for one solo game, but the schedule was in the hands of Major League Baseball.Carlos Carrasco (11-5, 3.83 ERA) will start the first game of doubleheader for the Indians with Ryan Merritt (0-0, 3.60) recalled as the 26th man for the doubleheader to start the second game. Mike Clevinger, originally scheduled to start Thursday, will be skipped in the rotation and be available out of the bullpen, according to MLB.com.Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (6-9, 6.02) will matchup with Carrasco in the first game after the two were originally scheduled for Wednesday. Jose Berrios will have his scheduled start moved back, with Minnesota calling up right-hander Aaron Slegers for his major league debut in the nightcap.Whoever is on the mound for Cleveland lately is getting the job done. After trailing much of the league for the first part of the year in ERA, the Indians now own the AL's best starting pitching ERA at 3.98. They also lead the league in strikeouts from their starters, and the rotation has a league-high 51 wins."I don't think you get too satisfied in the middle of August," Francona said. "I think we're trending in the right direction. But I think with those types of things, you just show up every day and keep plugging away or the trend can go the other way, until you're done. But it does feel better. When you show up and you feel like you're going to get a pretty well-pitched game, that helps everybody." Carrasco is 3-6 with a 4.43 ERA in his career against the Twins. He beat Minnesota on June 16 when he allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings.Merritt has faced the Twins twice in his career, producing a 3.60 ERA. The young left-hander also made a spot start in the earlier doubleheader between the two teams because of the first postponement. Merritt gave up three runs (two earned) in four innings on June 17.Gibson is 2-5 with a 5.75 ERA in 12 career starts against Cleveland. He is 0-2 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts against the Indians this season.Gibson has yielded 20 earned runs in his past 27 1/3 innings. The team has tried to get Gibson to be more aggressive in the zone and early in the counts, trusting his ground-ball tendencies will be successful."We've seen him definitely improve down those lines," Molitor said. "(Cleveland's) lineup for anybody, the way they're playing right now, is going to be challenging. But you don't want to add to their cause, at least minimize times you're going to give them counts where they can just swing from their heels or free baserunners with base on balls."If you don't pitch from ahead, you're going have a lot of trouble. The hard part about that is that they can ambush that first pitch, so you've got to make a quality pitch to start the sequence, and then hopefully be able to get weak contact from there." Slegers, 24, is enjoying a strong season in his first year at the Triple-A level. He is 13-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 21 starts for Rochester, with 97 strikeouts and 27 walks in 130 1/3 innings.The Twins' fifth-round draft pick in 2013 out of Indiana University, Slegers is 9-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his past 10 starts.The Indians have won five games overall and look ready to defend their AL title. Francona was asked why his teams have a tendency to play better in the second half of the season."I think some of it goes to our pitchers' work ethic," Francona said. "Our pitchers don't seem to tire as you get into August, September. I think that helps a ton. I'd like to think that our clubhouse, our chemistry, however you want to say it, we don't bail on each other. We keep plugging away, and I think it's a good characteristic. It's helped us a lot."

Gomes, Kipnis homer among 3 hits; Indians beat Twins 9-3 16m ago• 2 min read MINNEOLIS Yan Gomes and Jason Kipnis each had three hits including a home run, and the Cleveland Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 9-3 in the first game of a day-night doubleheader Thursday.Gomes hit a three-run homer in the eighth for his first three-hit game since April 23, 2016. Kipnis went deep two batters later to make it 7-2.Winners of six straight, the Indians are 9-0 at Target Field this year, outscoring Minnesota 65-19.Byron Buxton homered for Minnesota, which set a franchise record by striking out 19 times in a nine-inning game.Carlos Carrasco (12-5) allowed five hits in five innings. He retired nine straight batters- including five straight strikeouts - after Buxton's second-inning home run. Carrasco has struck out 19 batters in 13 innings over his last two starts.Cleveland starters have held opponents to one run or fewer in 10 of the last 13 games.Jorge Polanco had an RBI triple with no outs in the seventh to get Minnesota to within 3-2, but Jason Castro struck out and Brian Dozier grounded out against Bryan Shaw before Tyler Olson struck out Robbie Grossman.Kyle Gibson (6-10) allowed three runs on seven hits in four-plus innings for the Twins. Among his 97 pitches, he hit two batters and threw a wild pitch. This is the 15th time in 21 starts this season that Gibson didn't pitch six innings.Jay Bruce had a two-run single in the first for the Indians and Kipnis an RBI single in the second.RAMIREZ HURTCleveland 3B Jose Ramirez left the game in the second inning with an apparent right forearm injury. The first-time All-Star has 18 home runs and 58 RBIs this season. He leads the American League with 61 extra-base hits, including a league-tying 38 doubles.PERKINS IS BACKTwins reliever Glen Perkins allowed two runs in one-third of an inning after being reinstated from the disabled list. He missed more than 16 months with shoulder trouble.Ten of his 19 pitches were strikes. He gave up a walk and hit two batters.Perkins last pitched for the Twins on April 10, 2016, eventually having surgery to repair a torn labrum on June 23, 2016. The former closer and three-time All-Star has spent his entire career with the Twins organization since being drafted in the first round in 2004.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: LHP Andrew Miller struck out two in a scoreless inning for Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday. On the disabled list since Aug. 2 with right knee tendinitis, the reliever is expected to rejoin Cleveland on Friday in Kansas City.Twins: LHP Dietrich Enns was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain. Enns, who missed 2 1/2 months earlier this year with a shoulder strain, said he's not sure if it's same thing. An MRI is expected Thursday.UP NEXTRyan Merritt (0-0, 3.60) is scheduled to start Game 2 of the doubleheader for Cleveland against Minnesota's Aaron Slegers (0-0, 0.00). Both were called up as their team's 26th man. Making his major league debut, Slegers is 13-4 with a 3.18 ERA this season at Triple-A Rochester.---For more baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Astros host D-backs with pitching staff getting healthier 1h ago• 2 min read HOUSTON -- A cursory glance at the Houston Astros' current disabled list reveals a quartet of pitchers who at one point or another provided reliability for a flexible and versatile staff.On Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park, the Astros opened an eight-game homestand, starting with a two-game set against the Arizona Diamondbacks that concludes Thursday. The stretch could prove pivotal to reversing Houston's recent downward trend, one tied in part to those absent pitchers.Two of those arms, right-handers Lance McCullers and Will Harris, appear closer to a return than righty Michael Feliz and southpaw Tony Sipp. Harris' progress is especially timely.While the Astros' overworked bullpen has stabilized recently, Harris' return, potentially on this homestand, would provide a shot in the arm. Harris completed a bullpen session Wednesday and is poised to face live hitters later this week. Should he clear that hurdle without issue, the Astros (74-46) would welcome back a do-it-all reliever capable of recording crucial outs."I miss him terribly," Astros manager A. J. Hinch said. "He answers so many questions that we have throughout games with high-leverage roles to troubleshooting through some messes that we have sometimes in the middle innings. Gets righties out, gets lefties out, a big-moment type pitcher. We'll be happy to get him back." Right-hander Mike Fiers (7-7, 4.36 ERA) will start the series finale for the Astros.Fiers, 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA over four career starts against Arizona, surrendered a season-high-tying six earned runs on five hits over four innings in a 6-4 loss to the Texas Rangers on Saturday. Fiers paces the club in starts (23) and innings (128) and is tied for second with nine quality starts.Left-hander Patrick Corbin (9-11, 4.52 ERA) will get the start for the Diamondbacks. Corbin, making his first career start against the Astros, is looking to reach double digits in victories for the second in his career. He finished 14-8 in 2013.Corbin is 4-4 with a 4.42 ERA over 11 career interleague appearances (10 starts).The Diamondbacks (66-54) might be approaching a rotation change in the coming week, with rookie left-hander Anthony Banda (1-3, 7.32 ERA) scheduled to make at least one additional start Sunday against the Minnesota Twins.After pitching relatively effectively in his first two starts, allowing five runs over 11 2/3 innings, Banda struggled against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Astros in his previous two appearances, surrendering 11 runs over eight innings.Working against the two best teams in their respective leagues makes for a tall task, though, so Banda will get at least one more chance."That's the game plan," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said.The Arizona rotation could change soon thereafter. All-Star left-hander Robbie Ray, on the seven-day concussion disabled list since July 28, is scheduled to make a rehab start for high Class A Visalia on Thursday night. Should Ray, who was struck in the head by a line drive July 27, pitch effectively, he could be eligible for reinstatement Tuesday against the New York Mets."We're going to see how Robbie throws," Lovullo said.

Corbin goes 8 2/3 innings, Diamondbacks beat Astros 4-0 24m ago• 2 min read HOUSTON Patrick Corbin came within an out short of his first career shutout and first complete game since 2013 in the Arizona Diamondbacks' 4-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Thursday.After allowing a two-out double to Yuli Gurriel in the bottom of the ninth, Corbin was pulled by Arizona manager Torey Lovullo. Archie Bradley took over on the mound and struck out Marwin Gonzalez.Corbin (10-11) allowed four hits and one walk, struck out seven and threw just 105 pitches. After blanking the Chicago Cubs in 6 2/3 innings in his previous start, Corbin has 16 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.After scoring a combined 18 runs in consecutive wins over Arizona on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Astros' bats went cold in the final game of the four-game series, which was split between Arizona and Houston.Arizona second baseman Daniel Descalso hit an inside-the-park home run off Astros starter Mike Fiers in the fourth inning on a deep drive that sailed over the head of center fielder Jake Marisnick and bounced off the wall away from him.It was the 14th inside-the-park homer in Arizona franchise history and the third this season. It hadn't happened outside of Arizona since Kelly Stinnett did it on Aug. 29, 2005, in San Diego.Descalso's homer put Arizona up 2-0 after Jeff Mathis' single that scored Ketel Marte, who reached third following a walk and a two-base throwing error by Fiers. Jake Lamb made it 3-0 in the sixth with his 26th homer.Fiers (7-8) allowed three runs, two earned, on seven hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings.The Diamondbacks added a run in the eighth when David Peralta scored on a wild pitch from Francis Martes and a throwing error by catcher Max Stassi. The Astros committed two errors in the game, and Arizona had three.TRAINING ROOMDiamondbacks: RHP Rubby De La Rossa will undergo Tommy John surgery, the second of his career, and could be sidelined until the 2019 season, Lovullo said. De La Rosa first underwent the surgery in 2011 near the end of his rookie season with the Dodgers and missed most of the 2012 and 2013 seasons. ... OF David Peralta was reinstated from the paternity leave list.Astros: Of the nine Astros currently on the disabled list, manager A. J. Hinch guessed that C Evan Gattis (concussion) is ''first in line'' to make his return, with RP Will Harris (right shoulder) close behind him. Gattis did baseball activities, including hitting on Wednesday and caught a bullpen session on Thursday. Harris threw a bullpen session Wednesday. ... RHP Lance McCullers (back) threw a bullpen session Thursday.UP NEXTDiamondbacks: RHP Zack Godley (5-5) will start at Minnesota on Friday as he seeks his career-high sixth win. Godley is 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA in his last four starts. Godley has a 15-inning scoreless streak on the road, spanning three starts.Astros: LHP Dallas Keuchel (10-2) will make his 16th start of the season Friday when the Astros open a three-game home series against Oakland. Keuchel is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in two starts against Oakland this season.

Cubs' Lester looks to stay hot versus Reds 1h ago• 2 min read CHICAGO -- Jon Lester hopes to resume a positive post-All-Star break run as the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds wrap up a four-game series at Wrigley Field on Thursday.Lester (8-7, 3.99 ERA) is 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA in six starts since the break with one blip -- allowing four runs (three earned) and seven hits over six innings in a 6-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday."It's like a start over for us at the break," Lester said recently. "As of now, that stuff is going well. There are some clunkers in there I wish I could take it back or grind through better and have a better outcome." The Reds counter with ex-Cub right-hander Scott Feldman (7-7, 4.43 ERA).The Cubs (63-56) will look for a third victory in the series win while the Reds (50-71) seek to avoid their fifth loss in six games.The pressure at least will be off Joey Votto. The Reds first baseman went 1-for-4 on Wednesday and missed a chance to tie a record held by Ted Williams for the most consecutive games reaching base at least twice.Votto's hot stretch -- which included a 17-game hitting streak -- was halted at 20 games, leaving intact Williams' 21-game record set in 1948."To me, he's the best guy going in baseball right now," Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta told WSCR-AM on Wednesday. "What he is able to do is hit quality pitches for power." Feldman makes his second start since coming off a 25-day stay on the disabled list caused by right knee inflammation. He is tied with Michael Lorenzen for the Reds' lead in wins, and tied with Tim Adleman for the club lead in starts, and his nine quality starts are a team high.Feldman pitched for the Cubs in 2013 before a trade to Baltimore. Since then, he has faced the Cubs twice -- both this season, going 1-1 with a 4.66 ERA. He allowed no runs on two hits over seven innings in a 5-0 victory on June 30."My hopes are that he'll be able to maintain what we saw those first couple of months, as far as being able to go out there and take the field and do all the little things that he had to do as a pitcher -- field your position, swing the bat, run the bases, et cetera, without too much issue," Reds manager Bryan Price said recently.Lester is 4-3 with a 3.76 ERA in 14 home starts compared to 4-4, 4.27 in 11 appearances away from Wrigley Field. Lefties are batting only .184 against him while right-handers are hitting .264.Lester is 4-1 with a 4.79 ERA in 11 career starts against Cincinnati, all coming since he joined the Cubs. Lester is 2-0 with a 3.94 in five Wrigley Field starts against the Reds.The Cubs continue their homestand with a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays starting Friday.The Reds next travel to Atlanta for their first games at SunTrust Park. That three-game series also opens Friday.

Ervin, Votto lead Reds past Cubs despite Chicago's 6 homers 11m ago• 3 min read CHICAGO Phillip Ervin hit a two-run homer to snap a tie in the seventh inning and had four RBIs in his first major league start as the Cincinnati Reds rebounded from blowing a nine-run lead to defeat the Chicago Cubs 13-10 on Thursday.Ervin, in right field in his fifth game, also had a single and double in four at-bats. On Wednesday, the 25-year-old homered as a pinch hitter for his first hit.Joey Votto lofted a three-run homer in a nine-run, second-inning rally as Cincinnati raced to a 9-0 lead against Cubs starter Jon Lester on a warm day with the wind blowing out.Ian Happ hit two solo shots and a sacrifice fly, and Alex Avila went deep and had three RBIs for the Cubs, who used six homers to erase a nine-run deficit for the first time since August 1989 versus Houston.Drew Storen (4-2) pitched a scoreless sixth for the win, then Raisel Iglesias pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 23 chances. Justin Grimm (1-2), who gave up Erwin's homer and was the second of five Cubs relievers took the loss.Happ, Avila, Kris Bryant and Javier Baez homered in the fourth as the Cubs went deep four times in an inning for the first time since June 2008 to cut it to 9-6.Kyle Schwarber homered to lead off the fifth, then Anthony Rizzo and Avila drove in runs with doubles against Michael Lorenzen to tie it at 9.The Reds sent 13 men to the plate in the second. Eugenio Suarez and Ervin each had a single and a double in the eight-hit outburst.Lester was pulled with left lat tightness with two outs in the inning. The lefty was charged with nine runs, seven earned, and was replaced by Mike Montgomery after facing 11 batters in the inning and Cincinnati leading 8-0.It was Cincinnati's biggest rally since scoring 10 runs in August 2015 versus Detroit. Lester gave up 10 runs in 2/3 inning at a start at Pittsburgh on July 9.Bryant led off the fourth with a drive to left that bounced off the bleachers and onto Waveland Avenue. Avila's two-run homer was followed by consecutive solo shots from Happ and Baez off Reds starter Scott Feldman, who allowed six runs in 3 2/3 innings.Cincinnati permitted four homers in an inning for the first time since September 2007 versus Milwaukee.After Chicago tied it 9-all in the fifth, Ervin put the Reds back in front 11-9 in the seventh. Happ's sac fly in the bottom half made it 11-10.The Reds added insurance runs in the eighth and ninth.OFFENSIVE BUZZDuring the Reds' rally in the second, four of the Navy's Blue Angels fighter jets repeatedly buzzed Wrigley Field in formation at low altitude. They're part of the Chicago Air & Water show, which runs this weekend.TRAINER'S ROOMReds: Manager Bryan Price said OF Scott Schebler (strained left rotator cuff) should rejoin the club Friday in Atlanta. Schebler has been on the 10-day disabled list since Aug. 1. and began a rehab stint at Triple-A Louisville on Tuesday. . RHP Robert Stephenson (bruised right shoulder) is scheduled to return to the rotation against the Braves on Saturday.Cubs: Manager Joe Maddon said C Willson Contreras, on the DL since last week (right hamstring strain) ''is feeling pretty good,'' but there's no timetable for his return. Contreras, injured running to first base at San Francisco on Aug. 9, was expected to miss 4-6 weeks. . RHP Koji Uehara (neck strain) threw a bullpen session on Wednesday, but Maddon didn't have an update before Thursday's game. Uehara is on the 10-day disabled list.UP NEXTReds: RHP Sal Romano (2-5, 6.05) faces Braves RHP R. A. Dickey (8-7, 3.89) on Friday night in Atlanta. Romano, one of three rookies in Cincinnati's rotation, has lost four straight.Cubs: RHP Jake Arrieta (12-8, 3.73) takes the mound against Toronto LHP J. A. Happ (6-8, 3.63) in the opener of a three-game set at Wrigley Field on Friday afternoon. Arietta is 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA in eight starts since July 2. Happ, 20-4 last season, has won three straight with a 1.45 ERA after getting off to a 3-8 start.

Gonzalez seeks strong finish as Rockies host Braves 37m ago• 3 min read DENVER -- Carlos Gonzalez is hitting better lately.The Colorado Rockies right fielder was mired in a deep slump for so long, though, his chances of ending the season with a robust bottom line resembling those of past seasons are slim.Instead, Gonzalez is aiming "to just finish strong" and help the Rockies reach the postseason for the first time since 2009, not concerning himself where his own stats end up.Heading into the series finale with the Atlanta Braves on Thursday, Gonzalez is hitting .236 with seven home runs and 37 RBIs in 100 games. He has a .191 average with runners in scoring position.Gonzalez, however, has hit safely in nine of his past 11 games, going 13-for-42 (.310) with four doubles and eight RBIs. He feels he is dictating his at-bats."It's different when you don't go to the plate trying to see what happens," Gonzalez said. "Right now, I feel in control. Everyone is going to have bad at-bats and bad games. I think what's important is just to stay positive and feel good about yourself that you're going to get the job done."Most of the time when I get out it's because I got myself out. I chased bad pitches. But I feel like I can control my at-bats, and whenever they give me a good pitch, I'm not missing those as much." The Braves need a win Thursday to split the four-game series.Jeff Hoffman (6-4, 5.15 ERA) will start for the Rockies, while Lucas Sims (0-3, 5.71) gets the ball for the Braves. Both were first-round picks: Hoffman taken ninth overall by Toronto in 2014 and Sims 21st overall by Atlanta in 2012. Neither has faced his Thursday opponent.Sims, 23, made his major league debut Aug. 1 and will be making his fourth career start after losing his first three. His latest outing was Saturday at St. Louis, where Sims, in his first road start, gave up 10 hits and five runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings during a 6-5 defeat.Hoffman lost his last start 4-3 at Miami on Saturday when he allowed seven hits and four runs in five innings. Since he last won July 16, Hoffman is 0-3 with a 7.20 ERA in five starts.Hoffman will hope to slow Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson, who has hit safely five consecutive games, going 6-for-18. Swanson went 1-for-3 with a double in Atlanta's 17-2 loss Wednesday and was robbed of a hit when Rockies shortstop Trevor Story made a diving catch of a liner in the fifth.Swanson began the season with the Braves but was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on July 26 when he was hitting .213. That move came after a game at Arizona. The Diamondbacks took Swanson, 23, first overall in the 2015 draft but traded him to the Braves in December of that year in an ill-fated deal for Arizona that sent pitcher Shelby Miller to the desert.The Braves recalled Swanson on Aug. 9, when Johan Camargo, who took over at shortstop, sustained a right knee bone bruise.Recalling the day Swanson was demoted to the minors, Braves hitting coach Kevin Seitzer said, "This is what I told him, 'You need to go down and get confidence again. You need to be in a more relaxed setting to where you can just go play, get your swagger back.' Because this kid knows he can hit, knows he can play, but if you're not walking up there with a swagger to yourself, it's an uphill battle." Seitzer said Swanson was missing fastballs, getting pitches to hit and fouling them off and having nothing to show for it when he did barrel a ball."There comes a point, you start trying harder," Seitzer said. "Then the pressing comes. He was battling. He's a very tough kid. He's very grounded mentally, emotionally. There weren't snaps or pouting. He came with a good attitude every day."Since he's been back, he's been barreling a lot of balls and not getting much to show for it. But he's having good at-bats. We just need to keep that rolling."

Braves crush Rockies 10-4 as Arenado leaves with injury 21m ago• 2 min read DENVER Ender Inciarte hit two of Atlanta's four homers and the Braves beat the Colorado Rockies 10-4 on Thursday.Freddie Freeman and Tyler Flowers also homered, and Lucas Sims (1-3) got his first win in the majors for the Braves, who managed a four-game split at Coors Field thanks to four solo shots off Colorado starter Jeff Hoffman (6-5).The Rockies were served a potentially more serious blow in the seventh, when All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado left the game with an apparent injury to his left hand.Arenado was eaten up by a sharp grounder from Lane Adams and left the field in pain. The ball appeared to hit the same spot where he was plunked by Miami pitcher Vance Worley on Sunday.The Braves found a power surge early off Hoffman as Flowers hit his 10th home run of the season to lead off the second and Inciarte had a second-deck shot to start the third.Inciarte connected again in the fifth for his 10th of the season, as well as his third career multihomer game and his second this season. Freeman added another shot a batter later to chase Hoffman and put the Braves up 4-2.The Braves added six runs in the seventh, an inning which included a two-run double from Matt Adams, a two-run triple from Dansby Swanson and the injury to Arenado.The Rockies' bats struggled after scoring 17 runs on Wednesday night. They have now scored three or fewer runs in nine of their past 10 games.Charlie Blackmon had three hits, including a homer and two doubles to lead the Rockies. Jonathan Lucroy also had three hits.Hoffman allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings. He has not recorded a win in his previous six outings.OZZIE FLASHES SPEEDIn the second, Braves rookie Ozzie Albies soared around the bases for his first major league triple, losing his helmet in the process. The 20-year-old also legged out a single and recorded his first stolen base in the seventh.TRAINER'S ROOMBraves: OF Matt Kemp, on the 10-day disabled with a right hamstring strain since July 29, will take part in conditioning drills Friday and will be re-evaluated.Rockies: C Ryan Hanigan, who was supposed to give Lucroy a day off, was a late scratch Thursday with a stomach bug.UP NEXTBraves: RHP R. A. Dickey (8-7, 3.89) takes the mound for Atlanta as it opens a three-game series against the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. The 42-year-old knuckleballer has allowed one or fewer runs in seven of his last 10 starts.Rockies: RHP German Marquez (9-5, 4.13) will oppose Milwaukee's Matt Garza as the Rockies open a three-game series against the Brewers on Friday. Marquez is coming off one of his worst outings of the season, allowing five runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Miami Marlins on Sunday.

Blue Jays' Rowley soldiers on with career, faces Rays 21m ago• 3 min read TORONTO -- Chris Rowley made history Saturday, becoming the first graduate of West Point to pitch in the major leagues.The Toronto Blue Jays right-hander won the game, holding the Pittsburgh Pirates to one run in 5 1/3 innings.Rowley (1-0, 1.69 ERA) makes his second start Thursday in the finale of a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays at the Rogers Centre.Tampa Bay will start right-hander Chris Archer (8-7, 3.84 ERA).The Rays showed signs of emerging from an offensive slump when they defeated the Blue Jays 6-4 on Tuesday in the second game of the series.They reverted to their recent ways Wednesday, though, with a 3-2 loss to the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay needs a win Thursday to escape with a split against its American League East rival.The Rays stranded nine baserunners Wednesday."Tight ballgame," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "We had our opportunities but just weren't able to capitalize." The Rays (60-62) have been held to two or fewer runs eight times over their past 12 games, going 3-9 in that span.The Blue Jays (58-62) are 9-5 in their past 14 games and have allowed two or fewer runs in five of their past seven contests.The Rays adjusted their lineup for the Wednesday game, moving Corey Dickerson from the leadoff spot to sixth in the order with Brad Miller batting first."Maybe just a change of scenery for both the guys that got flip-flopped will do some good," Cash said. "I like the way that Brad has gotten on base. That helps. And Corey, to be able to drop him down, give him a blow in some of those big pressure situations, might help get him going also." Miller is not likely to remain in the leadoff spot, but Dickerson is likely to remain lower in the order for a while."Giving him some time to get some stuff in order," Cash said.Miller was 1-for-4 with one RBI on Wednesday while Dickerson was 2-for-4 with a double.It was Dickerson's first multi-hit game since Aug. 3. In his 10 previous games, he was 4-for-44.Archer ended a run of 15 consecutive starts in which he had pitched at least six innings when he lasted 5 1/3 frames against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. He allowed seven hits, two walks and three runs while striking out eight in a 3-0 loss.He will be making his 23rd career start against the Blue Jays.Archer is 6-4 with a 3.13 career ERA against the Blue Jays, his most frequent opponent. In three starts against Toronto this season, he is 0-0 with a 2.57 ERA. He has made 10 career starts at the Rogers Centre, going 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA.Rowley allowed five hits and one walk while striking out three against the Pirates."Awesome, really, and we've been looking for that," Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said. "He looked very confident out there. He had good life on his fastball, good sink to his fastball. Threw some good breaking balls. A debut is never easy, but I thought he did a tremendous job. He ought to feel proud of himself and excited." Rowley received a standing ovation at Rogers Centre when he was replaced in the sixth inning."That was really, really cool," Rowley said. "Having my family here to share it with me, walking off and all those people standing, that was something that was really special for me. I don't think anybody really expects to experience that in their life, but it was pretty special."

Smoak hits tiebreaking homer in 8th, Jays beat Rays 5-3 35m ago• 2 min read TORONTO Justin Smoak hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning, Josh Donaldson added two solo blasts and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 on Thursday.Smoak hit a two-run drive off Tommy Hunter (2-4), his 33rd, as the Blue Jays took three of four from the Rays to remain on the fringes of the AL wild card race. Toronto is 10-5 in August.Smoak went 2 for 4 with three RBIs.Donaldson connected twice against Rays right-hander Chris Archer, hitting solo shots in the first and fifth innings. It was his 13th career multihomer game and third this season. The homers were his 19th and 20th.Donaldson leads the AL with 10 first-inning home runs this season, one ahead of Houston's George Springer.The 2015 AL MVP, Donaldson homered four times in the four-game series, including a two-run shot in Monday's opener and a three-run blast Tuesday. He has 11 home runs over his past 19 games.Dominic Leone (3-0) got the win despite surrendering Evan Longoria's game-tying double in the top of the eighth.Roberto Osuna wrapped it up for his 32nd save in 39 chances.Leading 1-0 on Donaldson's first homer, the Blue Jays doubled their advantage in the third when Darwin Barney reached on a wild third strike and scored on Smoak's RBI single.Mallex Smith cut it to 2-1 with an RBI triple in the fourth but Donaldson restored the two-run cushion with a first-pitch drive the following inning.Archer allowed three runs in seven innings and is winless in three starts.Blue Jays right-hander Chris Rowley, the first West Point graduate to play in the major leagues, allowed two runs in five-plus innings. Rowley beat Pittsburgh in his debut last Saturday.MILESTONE KArcher struck out Miguel Montero in the fourth to reach 1,000 for his career. Archer, who finished with 10 strikeouts, reached the mark in his 154th start.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: RHP Alex Cobb (right big toe) threw a bullpen session at Tropicana Field on Wednesday. Cobb is set to throw off the mound again Friday and could return next week. ... OF Kevin Kiermaier (right hip) will play one more rehab game at Class-A Charlotte Thursday and could rejoin the team Friday.Blue Jays: SS Ryan Goins was in the starting lineup one day after being spiked in the left forearm on an attempted steal of second base.UP NEXTRays: RHP Auston Pruitt (6-3, 5.07) starts the opener of a three-game home series against Seattle. Former Ray RHP Erasmo Ramirez (4-4, 4.73) starts for the Mariners. Pruitt pitched in relief in his only prior appearance against Seattle, replacing Ramirez in a June 4 loss.Blue Jays: LHP J. A. Happ (6-8, 3.63) starts the opener of a three-game series at Wrigley Field against the Cubs. Happ is 3-0 with a 1.45 ERA in August. RHP Jake Arrieta (12-8, 3.73) starts for Chicago.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Cardinals, Pirates look to keep pressure on Cubs 1h ago• 3 min read PITTSBURGH -- Two teams scrambling to make headway in the National League Central will clash when the St. Louis Cardinals open a four-game set Thursday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.Neither is coming in hot, unless it's maybe hot under the collar.St. Louis (61-59) blew a two-run lead in the ninth -- an inning that included Cardinals manager Mike Matheny getting ejected -- on Wednesday night and fell 5-4 to the Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals took their third loss in a row.Pittsburgh (58-62) blew a 4-0 lead and allowed five homers Wednesday in a 7-6 loss at Milwaukee, the Pirates' fourth straight setback.The Cardinals are 5-4 against the Pirates this season.The first three games of the series will be held at PNC Park, followed by the first MLB Little League Classic on Sunday night in Williamsport, Pa.St. Louis won eight straight, at one point pulling into a first-place tie in the division, before the current losing streak.Going into the series at Pittsburgh, the third-place Cardinals are three games ahead of the fourth-place Pirates and 2 1/2 games behind the division-leading Chicago Cubs. The Milwaukee Brewers are tucked in the mix in second place, a game in front of St. Louis.The Pirates have rallied several times this season but keep falling into the cusp of being realistically out of the hunt for a playoff spot.It helps that they are in a weak division, and the series against St. Louis represents yet another chance to stay in contention.Losing Wednesday hurt in more than one way. It not only extended Pittsburgh's losing streak and came against a division opponent ahead in the standings, but it led to a downcast postgame clubhouse."We wanted to win this one bad," starting and losing pitcher Gerrit Cole said.At 21-23 within the division, the Pirates need wins in the series just as badly. Of course, St. Louis needs the victories, too.St. Louis veteran Adam Wainwright (12-5, 4.87 ERA) is scheduled to start the series opener Thursday.Wainwright has dealt with some elbow soreness and skipped his between-starts bullpen session but is expected to take his normal turn in the rotation after he played catch Tuesday with no problem.On Friday, the soreness kept Wainwright from throwing a pitch 90 mph or more, and he didn't have a strikeout, but it didn't stop him from posting his fifth win in as many decisions. He gave up one run on four hits in five innings during an 8-5 win over the Atlanta Braves.Wainwright, who is four strikeouts from reaching 100 for the eighth time in his career, likened the pain to what he felt in 2014."A little inflamed area in my joint," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "In '14, it was a couple of weeks, and I had it one time earlier this year, and it was gone after one start." Wainwright is 13-7 with a 4.11 ERA in 34 career games (29 starts) against the Pirates, including 6-4 with a 5.23 ERA in 16 games (13 starts) at PNC Park.For Pittsburgh, Jameson Taillon (7-5, 4.50) will be looking for his third straight quality start Thursday after he allowed a total of 17 earned runs in two starts.On Friday, Taillon allowed two runs in six-plus innings and struck out seven in a 4-2 win at Toronto. He will be looking to get above .500 at home, where he is 3-3 in nine starts.Taillon is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against the Cardinals.

Fowler has 3 RBIs, Cardinals top Pirates 11-7 13m ago• 1 min read PITTSBURGH Dexter Fowler's two -run triple sparked the St. Louis Cardinals to an 11-7 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Pirates Thursday night at PNC Park.With the Cardinals trailing 5-4 with one out in the seventh inning, Fowler tripled down the right field line off reliever Joaquin Benoit to give St. Louis a 6-5 lead. Fowler went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scored three runs and walked twice.Yadier Molina followed with an RBI single to make it 7-5 and chase Benoit (1-6), who allowed three runs on three hits in a third of an inning. Benoit has surrendered nine runs in six games for the Pirates since being acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 31.St. Louis added four more runs in the ninth inning before Pittsburgh answered with two in the bottom half.Fowler went 2 for 3 with three RBIs, scored three runs and walked twice.Right-hander Sam Tuivailala (3-1) pitched one scoreless inning for the win. He allowed three hits and had two strikeouts.Pittsburgh left the bases loaded in the sixth inning and stranded runners on second and third in the seventh.After trailing 5-1 at the end of the third inning, St. Louis rallied to avoid a fourth straight loss while Pittsburgh's losing streak reached five games. The Cardinals remain third in the National League Central, 1 1/2 games behind the Chicago Cubs.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Yankees go for Subway Series sweep of Mets 1h ago• 2 min read NEW YORK -- A pair of young pitchers coming off pivotal moments in their development will square off Thursday night when the New York Mets host the New York Yankees in the finale of the Subway Series at Citi Field.Mets left-hander Steven Matz (2-6, 5.54 ERA) is scheduled to oppose Yankees right-hander Luis Severino (9-5, 3.32). The Yankees will be going for a sweep of the four-game season series after earning a 5-3 victory Wednesday night.Matz and Severino lost their previous starts, albeit in wholly different fashions. Matz had one of his best starts during a nearly two-month winless stretch Saturday, when he gave up two runs over 5 2/3 innings as the Mets fell to the Phillies 3-1 in Philadelphia.It was only the second time in his past eight starts -- a stretch in which he is 0-5 with a 7.68 ERA -- that Matz allowed two runs or fewer. Mets manager Terry Collins said Wednesday he believed the solid start provided proof to the 26-year-old that he can pitch when he is at less than 100 percent.Matz underwent Tommy John surgery in 2010, had bone spurs removed from his left elbow last October and didn't debut this season until June 10 because of left elbow inflammation."You're talking about a guy (who has) had (multiple) elbow operations -- you're never going to be 100 percent," Collins said. "Out of 30-something starts, you're not going to feel good a majority of the time. You've got to learn how to get through it. And I think his last start really did that." Severino, who made his first All-Star team this season, endured the worst start of his career Saturday. He allowed 10 runs (eight earned) on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings as the Yankees fell to the Boston Red Sox 10-5 at Yankee Stadium. The 23-year-old entered Saturday having allowed just eight runs (six earned) in his previous six starts, a stretch in which he went 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA."He made some mistakes," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said following the loss. "He's been so good and executing so well, and we haven't seen that for a while. But it just shows that he's human." Matz is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA in two career starts against the Yankees. Severino earned the win in his lone previous appearance against the Mets on Aug. 3, 2016, when he allowed an unearned run and one hit over 4 1/3 innings of relief in the Yankees' 9-5 victory.The Yankees, who won the first two contests of the four-game, two-stadium series Monday and Tuesday in the Bronx, are looking for the third Subway Series season sweep in the 21-year history of the interleague rivalry. The Mets won all four games in 2013, and the Yankees won all six in 2003.Aaron Judge had an up-and-down game for the Yankees on Wednesday at Citi Field. He hit his American League-leading 37th homer but also struck out in a 33rd consecutive game, setting a single-season record for position players.

Sanchez powers Yankees past Mets 7-5 for Subway Series sweep 15m ago• 4 min read NEW YORK Gary Sanchez homered and matched a career high with five RBIs, Luis Severino got right back on track and the New York Yankees made it a four-game sweep in the Subway Series with a 7-5 victory Thursday night over the Mets.Sanchez hit a three-run homer off struggling starter Steven Matz in the first inning and a two-run single in the fourth. Brett Gardner broke his 3-for-29 slump with a two-run double, and the Yankees won twice at Citi Field just as they did back home in the Bronx earlier this week.Four games behind first-place Boston in the AL East, the Yankees begin a three-game series Friday night at Fenway Park. The Red Sox took two of three last weekend when the longtime rivals played at Yankee Stadium.Curtis Granderson hit his seventh career grand slam off Bryan Mitchell in the ninth, pulling the Mets to 7-5. Dellin Betances was immediately summoned and got three quick outs for his eighth save.Since interleague play began in 1997, it was only the third time one team swept the season series between these New York counterparts. The Yankees won all six meetings in 2003, and the Mets went 4-0 in 2013.Severino (10-5) was working on a two-hit shutout with one out in the seventh when Aaron Judge dropped a fly ball in the right-field corner for a two-base error. The All-Star righty never got another out, throwing a wild pitch and giving up two straight singles before he was removed.In his previous outing Saturday, the 23-year-old Severino had the worst start of his career. He allowed 10 runs, eight earned, and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings during a 10-5 loss to Boston.Before that, Severino was 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA in a span of six games.Matz (2-7) was unable to turn things around, dropping to 0-6 in his last nine starts. The left-hander hasn't won since June 28 at Miami.He was his own worst enemy Thursday, throwing away Gardner's comebacker for a two-base error to begin the game. Aaron Hicks walked and, after Judge struck out for the 34th consecutive game, Sanchez hit his third home run against the Mets this week.Severino's bunt single in the fourth, his first major league hit, loaded the bases. Gardner doubled to left field off Matz, and Sanchez hit a two-run single on the first pitch from reliever Chasen Bradford later in the inning.Matz gave up seven hits in 3 1/3 innings and allowed seven runs for the second time in a month. Six were earned.TRAINER'S ROOMYankees: All-Star 2B Starlin Castro (strained right hamstring) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Friday at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the same day DH Matt Holliday (back) reports to Class-A Tampa to start playing rehab games. ... Yankees manager Joe Girardi said closer Aroldis Chapman probably would be unavailable for the second consecutive night. Chapman's hamstring tightened up as he saved Tuesday's win. ... 1B Garrett Cooper went on the 10-day DL with tendinitis in his left hamstring. ... 1B-3B Chase Headley was rested. ... RHP Masahiro Tanaka (shoulder inflammation) did not throw a pregame bullpen as originally planned, but Girardi said everything was fine. The Yankees hope Tanaka can come off the DL during next week's series in Detroit.Mets: The next rehab outing for closer Jeurys Familia will probably be Saturday with Class-A St. Lucie, manager Terry Collins said. Familia pitched a scoreless inning for St. Lucie on Wednesday in his first appearance since surgery for a blood clot in his shoulder. ... SS Jose Reyes was placed on the 10-day disabled list, retroactive to Wednesday, with a sore left ribcage. Fellow infielder Wilmer Flores remained out of the lineup with a similar injury. Flores planned to work out before the game, and the team decided not to put him on the DL. But he wasn't expected to be available off the bench, Collins said. Both players sat out Wednesday as well.REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVEThe Mets recalled infielders Matt Reynolds and Gavin Cecchini from Triple-A Las Vegas. Reynolds started at third base and had two hits, including an RBI single off Severino in the seventh. RHP Kevin McGowan was optioned to Las Vegas.UP NEXTYankees: Rookie LHP Jordan Montgomery (7-6, 3.94 ERA) pitches the series opener Friday night at Fenway Park against Boston LHP Drew Pomeranz (12-4, 3.39). Montgomery has permitted only one run in three of his past four starts, including a solid effort over 5 1/3 innings Sunday night against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium.Mets: Giancarlo Stanton brings his home run show to the Big Apple when Miami visits Friday night. Stanton leads the majors with 44 homers. ''He's hurt us enough in the past to know that he can be so dangerous,'' Collins said. ''We're going to try to be very, very careful with him.'' Stanton said he would enjoy facing new Mets closer AJ Ramos, traded by the Marlins late last month. The big slugger said his former teammate told him he's going to cool off his bat. ''It'll be funny facing him. We've been talking trash to each other,'' Stanton said.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

After rainout, Twins host Indians in doubleheader Thursday 10h ago• 4 min read MINNEAPOLIS -- Rain has been a big problem for the Minnesota Twins in their eighth year in the outdoor Target Field. Cleveland has been a problem for Minnesota, too, but the Indians have had their share of the weather-related headaches at Target Field.The Wednesday game between the teams never began, and it was officially postponed 30 minutes after the scheduled start time. It was the fourth postponement of the season at Target Field this season and the second involving Minnesota and Cleveland. The two teams were rained out on April 19, as well.The game will be made up Thursday as part of a split doubleheader. Thursday's original day game will start at 12:10 p.m. CT, and the makeup will start at 6:10 p.m. CT.The Indians won the series opener on Tuesday 8-1. Cleveland is 8-0 in Minnesota this season and has outscored the Twins 56-15 in Target Field."It doesn't really make sense, but there's a lot of things in our game that you spin your head around trying to figure out," Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said of the Indians' dominance in Target Field. "I'm well aware that they've come in here and dominated us in our own park. We've got a couple more chances to get in the win column against them here before we go there and play them there in September." The two teams had only one other common day which could have been used as a makeup, Sept. 25. Cleveland manager Terry Francona said pregame that he hoped for a doubleheader instead of returning to Minnesota for one solo game, but the schedule was in the hands of Major League Baseball.Carlos Carrasco (11-5, 3.83 ERA) will start the first game of doubleheader for the Indians with Ryan Merritt (0-0, 3.60) recalled as the 26th man for the doubleheader to start the second game. Mike Clevinger, originally scheduled to start Thursday, will be skipped in the rotation and be available out of the bullpen, according to MLB.com.Twins right-hander Kyle Gibson (6-9, 6.02) will matchup with Carrasco in the first game after the two were originally scheduled for Wednesday. Jose Berrios will have his scheduled start moved back, with Minnesota calling up right-hander Aaron Slegers for his major league debut in the nightcap.Whoever is on the mound for Cleveland lately is getting the job done. After trailing much of the league for the first part of the year in ERA, the Indians now own the AL's best starting pitching ERA at 3.98. They also lead the league in strikeouts from their starters, and the rotation has a league-high 51 wins."I don't think you get too satisfied in the middle of August," Francona said. "I think we're trending in the right direction. But I think with those types of things, you just show up every day and keep plugging away or the trend can go the other way, until you're done. But it does feel better. When you show up and you feel like you're going to get a pretty well-pitched game, that helps everybody." Carrasco is 3-6 with a 4.43 ERA in his career against the Twins. He beat Minnesota on June 16 when he allowed one run in 6 1/3 innings.Merritt has faced the Twins twice in his career, producing a 3.60 ERA. The young left-hander also made a spot start in the earlier doubleheader between the two teams because of the first postponement. Merritt gave up three runs (two earned) in four innings on June 17.Gibson is 2-5 with a 5.75 ERA in 12 career starts against Cleveland. He is 0-2 with a 3.94 ERA in three starts against the Indians this season.Gibson has yielded 20 earned runs in his past 27 1/3 innings. The team has tried to get Gibson to be more aggressive in the zone and early in the counts, trusting his ground-ball tendencies will be successful."We've seen him definitely improve down those lines," Molitor said. "(Cleveland's) lineup for anybody, the way they're playing right now, is going to be challenging. But you don't want to add to their cause, at least minimize times you're going to give them counts where they can just swing from their heels or free baserunners with base on balls."If you don't pitch from ahead, you're going have a lot of trouble. The hard part about that is that they can ambush that first pitch, so you've got to make a quality pitch to start the sequence, and then hopefully be able to get weak contact from there." Slegers, 24, is enjoying a strong season in his first year at the Triple-A level. He is 13-4 with a 3.18 ERA in 21 starts for Rochester, with 97 strikeouts and 27 walks in 130 1/3 innings.The Twins' fifth-round draft pick in 2013 out of Indiana University, Slegers is 9-0 with a 2.10 ERA in his past 10 starts.The Indians have won five games overall and look ready to defend their AL title. Francona was asked why his teams have a tendency to play better in the second half of the season."I think some of it goes to our pitchers' work ethic," Francona said. "Our pitchers don't seem to tire as you get into August, September. I think that helps a ton. I'd like to think that our clubhouse, our chemistry, however you want to say it, we don't bail on each other. We keep plugging away, and I think it's a good characteristic. It's helped us a lot."

Gomes, Kipnis homer among 3 hits; Indians beat Twins 9-3 4h ago• 3 min read MINNEOLIS An anxious moment turned out to be nothing serious and the Cleveland Indians continue to roll.Yan Gomes and Jason Kipnis each had three hits including a home run, and the Indians beat the Minnesota Twins 9-3 on Thursday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader.Gomes hit a three-run homer in the eighth for his first three-hit game since April 23, 2016. Kipnis went deep two batters later to make it 7-2.Winners of six straight, the Indians are 9-0 at Target Field this year, outscoring Minnesota 65-19.Byron Buxton homered for Minnesota, which set a franchise record by striking out 19 times in a nine-inning game.Cleveland got an early scare when Jose Ramirez left the game in the second inning after getting hit by a pitch on the right forearm. X-rays were negative. The first-time All-Star has 18 home runs and 58 RBIs this season. He leads the American League with 61 extra-base hits, including a league-tying 38 doubles.''Yeah, of course I was scared,'' he said through a translator. ''It hurt really bad and I thought that I broke it. But I'm fine. Thank God.'' Carlos Carrasco (12-5) allowed five hits in five innings. He retired nine straight batters - including five straight strikeouts - after Buxton's second-inning home run. Carrasco has struck out 19 batters in 13 innings over his last two starts.Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but Carrasco struck out the next two hitters en route to getting out of the inning unharmed.''Staying out there for five and, for the most part, keeping them off the scoreboard, we'll take it because that had a chance to be a complete bullpen game,'' manager Terry Francona said.Cleveland starters have held opponents to one run or fewer in 10 of the last 13 games.Jorge Polanco had an RBI triple with no outs in the seventh to get Minnesota within 3-2, but Jason Castro struck out and Brian Dozier grounded out against Bryan Shaw before Tyler Olson struck out Robbie Grossman.''There are times when a strikeout isn't going to hurt you or cripple you too much, but there are obviously times where you would like to think that guys will better their understanding a ball in play has a chance to be important,'' Twins manager Paul Molitor said.Kyle Gibson (6-10) allowed three runs and seven hits in four-plus innings for the Twins. Among his 97 pitches, he hit two batters and threw a wild pitch. This is the 15th time in 21 starts this season that Gibson didn't pitch six innings.''They were either putting it in play or fouling it off. They didn't have a lot of quick at-bats. I think I counted 14 of the 21 I had two strikes on,'' Gibson said.PERKINS IS BACKTwins reliever Glen Perkins allowed two runs in 1/3 inning after being reinstated from the disabled list. He missed more than 16 months with shoulder trouble.Ten of his 19 pitches were strikes. He gave up a walk and hit two batters.Perkins last pitched for the Twins on April 10, 2016, eventually having surgery to repair a torn labrum on June 23, 2016. The former closer and three-time All-Star has spent his entire career with the Twins organization since being drafted in the first round in 2004.ROSTER MOVEMinnesota optioned LHP Buddy Boshers to Triple-A Rochester after the game and recalled LHP Nik Turley, who will likely be used in long relief.TRAINERS ROOMIndians: LHP Andrew Miller struck out two in a scoreless inning for Triple-A Columbus on Wednesday. On the disabled list since Aug. 2 with right knee tendinitis, the reliever is expected to rejoin Cleveland on Friday in Kansas City.Twins: LHP Dietrich Enns was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a left shoulder strain. Enns, who missed 2 1/2 months earlier this year with a shoulder strain, said he's not sure if it's same thing. An MRI is expected Thursday.UP NEXTRyan Merritt (0-0, 3.60) is scheduled to start Game 2 of the doubleheader for Cleveland against Minnesota's Aaron Slegers (0-0, 0.00). Both were called up as their team's 26th man. Making his major league debut, Slegers is 13-4 with a 3.18 ERA this season at Triple-A Rochester.---For more baseball coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Red-hot Rangers host weary White Sox 1h ago• 3 min read ARLINGTON, Texas -- Considering the Chicago White Sox just finished getting swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers, the best team in baseball, a four-game set against the Texas Rangers starting Thursday will represent a reprieve.Right? Maybe not.The Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the American League, winners of six of their past seven games.In a three-game sweep of the Tigers, Texas swamped Detroit with 28 runs on 39 hits and 55 baserunners, including 25 baserunners in a 12-6 victory Wednesday.Welcome to Texas, Chicago.The White Sox's Reynaldo Lopez (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will meet fellow right-hander Tyson Ross (3-2, 7.11) in the series opener."It'd be tough to point to just one thing," Texas manager Jeff Banister said of the key to the team's hot streak. "It's been the number of baserunners we continue to have. The double-digit baserunners have allowed us to do some things that we're used to doing: run the bases, steal bases, create, and obviously the home run shows up for us in certain situations."But I think it's the combination of all things. The defense we've played, the pitching we've gotten, and the offense has really showed up for us." The Rangers (59-60) are back within a game of .500 and two games behind the second American League wild-card position with 43 games to play. Texas is trying to extend a three-game winning streak while keeping their longshot playoff hopes alive.The White Sox (45-72) are 4-10 in August, and they have lost four straight."We got to put this behind us as quickly as possible because tomorrow is a new day," Chicago manager Rick Renteria said after his team blew a ninth-inning lead to fall 5-4 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.Lopez, 23, will be making his second start of the season. He allowed two runs and struck out six over six innings in his season debut, a no-decision against the Kansas City Royals on Friday. Thursday will mark his first career start against Texas.Ross comes in following a victory in his most recent start. The 30-year-old allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings in an 8-3 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday. Ross has worked fewer than six innings in seven of his eight starts this year.He is 3-0 with a 2.95 ERA in three career starts and one relief appearance against Chicago.The White Sox showed some pop with four homers in the finale against the Dodgers, including two from rookie Nicky Delmonico. Leury Garcia hit the first pitch of the game out of the park, just as teammate Tim Anderson did the day before. That marked the first time in franchise history the White Sox homered in consecutive games on the first pitch."We lost a (tough) game in the ninth," Garcia said. "We're still working and playing hard." Anderson has five home runs, four doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs in his past 13 games.Fatigue might be an issue for Chicago, which wasn't expected to get into Texas until early Thursday morning after playing the Dodgers late on the West Coast.Nomar Mazara, Elvis Andrus and Joey Gallo are all going well for the Rangers -- and all three homered Wednesday, as did Adrian Beltre.Mazara has three three-hit games in his past seven outings, and he is batting .481 during that span. The 22-year-old has 20 RBIs in his past 18 games.Andrus' career year now includes a torrid stretch in which he is hitting .359 with 11 doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs over his past 24 games.Gallo, who is tied for second in the AL with 35 homers, has 10 long balls in August and 14 since the All-Star break."I think everybody's doing their job, we're having really good at-bats, nobody's taking anything for granted, and no matter if it's two outs, we still believe we can have a rally and score runs," Andrus said. "That's our DNA that we need to keep the rest of the season, and hopefully the beginning of something good." The series will also feature a notable homecoming.White Sox lefty Derek Holland, who pitched eight seasons and on two World Series teams with the Rangers, returns to face his former team Saturday.

Mazara homers, drives in 5 as Rangers top White Sox 9-8 15m ago• 2 min read ARLINGTON, Texas Nomar Mazara drove in five runs, including a tiebreaking three-run homer in the fifth inning, and the Texas Rangers held on to beat the Chicago White Sox 9-8 on Thursday night.The Rangers (60-60) reached .500 for the first time since July 15 with their fourth straight win and seventh in eight games. The defending AL West champs, out of the division race behind Houston, pulled within 1 1/2 games of the idle Los Angeles Angels for the AL's second wild card.Mazara's 16th home run capped the Rangers' second four-run inning, which included two injury replacements on the mound for the White Sox in their fifth straight loss. Chicago, carrying the AL's worst record, dropped to 7-24 since the All-Star break.The White Sox twice pulled within a run late after trailing 8-5, including in the ninth on Jose Abreu's 23rd homer, a solo shot. But Alex Claudio finished a two-inning save for the left-hander's sixth of the season.Chris Beck replaced starter Reynaldo Lopez in the fifth and took a sharp comebacker from Adrian Beltre off the back of his right shoulder. The right-hander stayed in the game without getting checked and allowed Mazara's high drive to right-center.After a trainer finally came out, Beck exited with a right shoulder bruise. Lopez (0-1) was removed because of soreness on his right side in his second start since coming up from the minors.Austin Bibens-Dirkx (4-2) retired all five batters he faced after starter Tyson Ross walked a season-high six and allowed five runs in 4 1/3 innings. Chicago pitchers walked a season-high nine.Rangers backup catcher Brett Nicholas had his second homer in two starts, a two-run shot in the third, and a bases-loaded walk in the seventh. Mazara, who has 25 RBIs in his past 19 games, had a two-run single later in the third. He finished one RBI shy of his career high.Abreu's two-run single helped the White Sox build a 4-0 lead that they couldn't hold a night after giving up three runs in the bottom of the ninth in a 5-4 loss at the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chicago arrived in Texas about 5 a.m. local time.Nicky Delmonico went 0-4, ending a streak of reaching base in the first 13 games of his career. He was the first White Sox player to do that, according to Elias.TRAINER'S ROOMWhite Sox: RF Avisail Garcia was scratched from the lineup with left wrist soreness. ... Lopez was to be re-evaluated Friday, and Beck was listed as day-to-day.Rangers: LHP Jake Diekman struck out two on 13 pitches in a scoreless fifth inning and was the winning pitcher on a rehab assignment with Double-A Frisco, his first appearance of the season. He underwent multiple surgeries to repair and rebuild his colon to treat a digestive condition.UP NEXTWhite Sox: RHP James Shields (2-4, 5.90) is winless (0-3) with a 7.54 ERA over his past seven starts. He is 7-3 with a 2.66 ERA in his career against the Rangers.Rangers: RHP Andrew Cashner (7-9, 3.32) had a three-game winning streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to Houston in his last start, allowing two runs in seven innings.---More baseball: https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball

Spangenberg, Padres aim to keep rolling vs. Nats 4h ago• 3 min read SAN DIEGO -- The Washington Nationals kick off a four-game series with the San Diego Padres on Thursday. That means one of baseball's hottest players will be in America's Finest City."It's just his energy," Padres manager Andy Green said. "The way he flies down the line, the way he flies around from first to third. He never takes a play off, and he's always locked in. I think it's those kinds of things fans appreciate a great deal. It's fun to show up and watch him play baseball." Is Green talking about Nationals All-Star Bryce Harper?Nope. Try the Padres' Cory Spangenberg.While Harper is on the shelf with a bum knee, Spangenberg continues to shine."He's done a great job for us," Green said.Spangenberg remade his swing, ditching his line-drive-based approach. Instead, he is shooting for the fences. His bat angle is different when making contact, and his results have flipped, too.After hitting three homers in his past four games, Spangenberg has already has set a career high with 12. In the second half of the season, he has become one of the Padres' more reliable sluggers."When he stays committed to a small zone, he can take a very aggressive pass, and when he squares the baseball up, he is very good about that," Green said. "His struggles are when he gets above the zone and behind the zone." Spangenberg leads a lineup facing former Padre Edwin Jackson (3-2, 3.86 ERA). Jackson went 5-6 for San Diego last year and he could be a comforting sight for his former teammates.Jackson, who has won two of his past three starts, has gone 0-6 with a 6.63 ERA in his career against the Padres (54-66). However, he was keen against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday, recording six quality innings after escaping an early jam. He allowed one run on five hits in a 3-1 win."(It) was definitely one of those 'dig deep and see what you're made of' days," Jackson told MLB.com. "I was fortunate enough to come out with good results and also help out the bullpen at the same time with a solid six innings. It's one of those days when you really don't have your best stuff." While the Nationals' best player, Harper, is idle, Green agrees that Jhoulys Chacin (11-8, 4.06) has quite a task in front of him Thursday. Chacin is 3-2 in his career against the Nationals with a 3.43 ERA.He won three of his past four decisions, although he didn't get one his last time out on Saturday versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chacin went five innings and surrendered only one run on four hits against a vaunted offense. He will see another one when he opposes the Nationals (71-47), though Washington fell 3-2 Wednesday against the Los Angeles Angels."That's a really good lineup, it's a long lineup with a lot of really good players that makes it a really good team," Green said. "Obviously, Bryce is out now and that changes it a little bit. But Daniel Murphy is as dangerous as anybody in the game."They got speed still. They got power. They got hitters. They have been the best team in the NL East for some time now." The rebuilding Padres don't mind playing David to the Nationals' Goliath. San Diego recently played the surging Dodgers tough when talking one game in a three-game set. The Padres are also coming off a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, capped by a 3-0 win Wednesday."It will be a fun challenge for our guys," Green said of facing Washington. "I like how we played in a hostile park at Dodger Stadium. I expect us to play just as good here, if not better."

Zimmerman's homer lifts Nationals to 2-1 win vs Padres 15m ago• 1 min read SAN DIEGO Ryan Zimmerman homered with two outs in the eighth inning to lift the NL East-leading Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the San Diego Padres on Thursday night.Zimmerman homered to right field on 1-1 pitch from Kirby Yates (2-4), who struck out the first two batters of the inning. It was Zimmerman's 29th. Yates then struck out Adam Lind to end the inning.The homer was one of just four hits for Washington and made a winner of Edwin Jackson (4-2), who pitched for the Padres for part of last season. He allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings, struck out four and walked one. Jackson had been 0-6 lifetime against the Padres.Sean Doolittle pitched the ninth for his 10th save.The Padres were coming off a three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies, the NL East cellar dwellers who have the worst record in the majors.

Phillies, Giants begin series between NL bottom feeders 3h ago• 2 min read SAN FRANCISCO -- The two losingest teams in baseball with little but 2018 draft order at stake begin a four-game series Thursday night when the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants meet at AT&T Park.Two guys pitching their best ball of the season will square off in the series opener, with the Phillies sending right-hander Aaron Nola against Giants righty Jeff Samardzija.The Phillies (43-75) are coming off a 3-0 loss at San Diego on Wednesday that capped a three-game sweep. The defeat was the Phillies' 10th in 14 games, further distancing them from the Giants (48-74) in the duel for last place in the National League.The Phillies won two of three when the clubs met in Philadelphia in June. Neither Nola nor Samardzija pitched in that series.The No. 7 overall pick of the 2014 draft, Nola (9-7, 3.02 ERA) has faced the Giants just once in his career, and it did not go well. He was bombed for five runs and 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, yet got no decision, at AT&T Park last season.Nola has allowed just 13 earned runs in his past 10 starts, a stretch during which he limited all 10 opponents to two earned runs or fewer.He has been even better since the All-Star break, accumulating the NL's third-best ERA (1.85) in six starts.Nola will duel new Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval for the first time.Waived by the Boston Red Sox in July, signed to a minor league deal by the Giants three days later and promoted to the majors earlier this month, Sandoval has hits in eight of his 10 games in his return to the team that he helped win 2010, 2012 and 2014 World Series championships.He was the only Giant to play in all six games on their just completed trip."With Buster (Posey) out, I wanted to keep him in the lineup," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said about Sandoval's start Wednesday at Miami. "His thing is, 'Hey, I've had enough days off this year.'"Sandoval went 1-for-3 with a walk in San Francisco's 8-1 loss to the Marlins.Samardzija (7-12, 4.74 ERA) will take the mound Thursday on a nice roll, but with no history of success against the Phillies.He opened the Giants' 2-4 trip with a 3-1 loss at Washington, which ended his personal three-game winning streak. He has compiled a 3.29 ERA in those four games.Samardzija has never gone head-to-head with a current member of the Phillies. He has a 1-4 record and a 8.67 ERA in 10 games, including four starts, in his career against Philadelphia.Like Nola, Samardzija should expect to see an unfamiliar opponent on Thursday night. The Phillies demoted their Wednesday starting pitcher, Nick Pivetta, to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after the loss in San Diego, seeking to create a roster spot for an outfielder for the series against the Giants.The Phillies are expected to make the promotion announcement before the Thursday game.Outfield help is needed with Odubel Herrera sidelined due to a hamstring injury."I don't have a definite answer for that," manager Pete Mackanin responded when asked if Herrera, who sat out the Phillies' past two games, might be ready by the weekend. "In the meantime, we need a position player."

Jeff Samardzija strikes out 6 as Giants beat Phillies 5-4 24m ago• 1 min read SAN FRANCISCO Jeff Samardzija struck out six over six innings to win for the fourth time in five starts, Jarrett Parker hit a two-run double, and the San Francisco Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 on Thursday night.Buster Posey and Hunter Pence each hit RBI singles in the third to back Samardzija (8-12) as San Francisco returned from a 2-4 road trip through Washington and Miami. On Parker's fifth-inning double, Pence sprinted around the bases so fast he was right on the heels of Denard Span coming into home.Cameron Rupp and Nick Williams hit solo homers for the Phillies in a matchup of the two worst teams in the National League - two of three clubs in baseball still below 50 wins.Rupp hit a one-out homer to the elevated right-field arcade on the first pitch he saw in the fifth from Samardzija, who had been 1-4 with an 8.67 ERA in 10 previous outings and four starts against the Phillies.

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